Research and Homework Help

• Red Deer Public Library
  Online Catalogue

  Search all RDPL collections including the Dawe & Downtown Branches.

  If no results here try:

• TAL Online
  (The Alberta Library Online Catalogue)

  One-search-access to most public & academic Alberta libraries for Interlibrary Loan requests.

  If still no results use:

• Interlibrary Loan
  ILL is a service through which you may obtain items that are not found in the RDPL collection

• Online Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Reference Books

• For Book Lovers
  
  
• For Music Lovers
  
  
• Instructional Databases
  
  
• Magazine Databases:
  • General Interest
  • Business
  • Health
    
    
• Newspapers Online
  
  
• Vehicle Repair
  

• Google Canada
  
  
• Internet Links
  Internet links selected by library staff.
  
  
• Internet Search Tools
  
  
• Librarians' Internet Index
  
  
• Getting started on the hidden web (requires Shockwave)

The Alberta Online Encyclopedia is a multi-media encyclopedia that showcases all aspects of the historical, cultural, natural, scientific and technological heritage of Alberta.

Associations Unlimited
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

The premier source for associations - use this database to locate approximately 460,000 international and U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields, including IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations. The database is also used to monitor association trends; identify related associations; networking and making professional contacts; marketing to associations, their members and markets.

With the aid of its partners and the generous support of Heritage Canada, the Canadian Encyclopedia Online is available free of charge to all Canadians and to interested users around the world. The site contains the complete text of the acclaimed Canadian Encyclopedia in English and French, the text of the Junior Encyclopedia of Canada (in English only), numerous interactivities, feature articles, games, the Canucklehead Quiz, and an extensive timeline of Canadian and world events.

Credo Reference (formerly Xreferplus)
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

La Enciclopedia estudiantil hallazgos en línea es una enciclopedia de conocimientos generales. Contiene información sobre gente, lugares, objetos, acontecimientos e ideas.

Good starting point for all research. Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus , Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year . You can also search an Internet directory that includes more than 300,000 links to Web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.

Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. It includes the following reference works:

• Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America 6v, 2000
• Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion 3v, 2005
• St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture 5v, 2000
• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America 2nd ed., 3v, 2000
• Biology 4v, 2002
• World of Earth Science 2v, 2003
• World of Forensic Science 2v, 2005

The ultimate dictionary. If you need a dictionary use this source

Good starting point for all research. You will get the encyclopedia article with links to magazine articles and websites

Powered by Gale's popular What Do I Read Next? series, Books & Authors combines both browseable menus and visual search technology to guide readers from every level of reading proficiency to books that match their interests.

Provides complete biographical and bibliographical information and references on more than 120,000 U.S. and international authors.

The online Naxos Spoken Word Library comprises one of the most comprehensive collections of classic audiobook material available online. Naxos AudioBooks is a leading spoken word label, producing some 30 new titles a year and concentrating largely on literary classics and educational themes. The library offers Naxos AudioBooks' full range of recordings, many of which can also be followed with the texts on screen. Also included are Naxos Educational products, focusing closely on the background to operas and the lives of great composers. Almost all the recordings are illustrated with music from the unrivalled Naxos catalogue.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using Naxos Spoken Music Library

Excellent for finding out about new novels and authors. Enter the title or author of your favorite novel and get a list of similar novels and authors. The perfect source for everyone who loves to read.

Excellent for finding out about new children's stories and authors. Enter the title or author of your child's favorite story and get a list of similar stories and authors. The perfect source for kids who loves to read (and their parents).

Classical Music Library is one of the world's largest multi-label database of Classical music recordings for listening and learning in libraries. The award-winning Classical Music Library's growing collection of 50,000-plus tracks for listening and searching is supplemented by extensive reference materials and backed by a powerful suite of tools designed to support learning. You can also download a new free classical music piece each month - click on the banner below.

Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries, produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. The collection provides educators, students, and interested listeners with an unprecedented variety of online resources that support the creation, continuity, and preservation of diverse musical forms.

It includes the published recordings owned by the non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels.

African American Song is the first online resource to document the history of African American music in an online music listening service. The collection contains a diverse range of genres such as jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives, among others.

This release features some 16,000 tracks of great historical recordings from Document Records. It provides a rich source of Blues and early Jazz recordings as well as a lot of sacred music.

Naxos Music Library is the most comprehensive collection of classical music available online. It includes the complete Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues of over 165,000† tracks, including Classical music, Jazz, World, Folk and Chinese music * . Whilst listening, you can read notes on the works being played as well as biographical information on composers or artists in Naxos's extensive database.

Auralog's Tell Me More product is a tool to help you learn the following languagages:

• American English
• Dutch
• French
• German
• Italian
  
• Spanish
• Spanish (Latin American)

Rosetta Stone Online Language Learning Center

The publisher of the Rosetta Stone language learning database has made the decision to no longer make their products available to libraries. Therefore as of January 1, 2008 we are no longer able to make Rosetta Stone available to our customers. We are hoping that we will be able to find a similar product to replace Rosetta Stone..

Academic Search Elite provides full text for more than 2,000 serials, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to the full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for all 3,466 journals in the collection. This database offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies and more.

Discover the world of agriculture and life science with AGRICOLA. Compiled by the U.S. National Agricultural Library (NAL), this comprehensive source of bibliographic information consists of over 2.5 million citations to journal articles, monographs, theses, patents, software, audio-visual materials, and technical reports. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, agricultural products, alternative farming practices, and food and nutrition. Auxiliary subjects that support NAL's Information Center activities, such as agricultural trade and marketing, rural information, and animal welfare are also included in the database. Coverage for AGRICOLA dates back to 1970.

Contains information for approximately 339,000 U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields, including IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations. Materials include pamphlets, forms, etc. provided by 2,500 US non-profit associations.

The Canadian Literary Centre consists of book and reference content from Essays on Canadian Writing Press (ECW Press). ECW Press also provides several individual monographs and biographies, essays and literary criticism. The database includes book reviews, essays, author biographies, and much more. Canadian Literary Centre features full text sources such as Canadian Fiction Studies, Canadian Biography Series, Canadian Writers and Their Works (Poetry and Fiction Series), ECW's Biographical Guide to Canadian Novelists, ECW's Guide to Canadian Poets, George Woodcock's Introduction to Canadian Fiction, George Woodcock's Introduction to Canadian Poetry, The Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors, Essays on Canadian Writing (1974-present), Books in Canada (1971-present), Quill & Quire (1996-present), Textual Studies in Canada, University of Toronto Quarterly (1975-present), and many more. This database is updated on a daily basis.

Canadian Newsstand is a full text/bibliographic database that provides full text access to articles, columns and features published by these daily newspapers: Calgary Herald, Daily News (Halifax), Edmonton Journal, Gazette (Montreal), Financial Post (Prior to October 27th, 1998), National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Province (Vancouver), Spectator (Hamilton) ( 1994 to July 1999 ), Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun . Plus transcripts of national news broadcasts from: CBC News & Current Affairs and CTV News & Current Affairs. A great source for Canadian newspapers and current affairs information.

Canadian Reference Centre combines Canadian magazines, newspapers & newswires and reference books to create the largest collection of regional full text content available to Canadian libraries. This database includes leading Canadian periodicals and international (U.S. and U.K.) periodicals in full text; full text reference books; 84,074 full text biographies and an Image Collection of 188,323 photos, maps and flags. Canadian Reference Centre provides full text information for over 150 Canadian periodicals and over 400 international periodicals. Examples of titles offered in Canadian Reference Centre include: Macleans, Beaver, Canadian Economic Observer, Canadian Geographic, CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, Popular Science, Psychology Today, and many more. This database also contains over 30 Canadian and international newspapers including Toronto Star, Canadian Associated Presse, Guelph Mercury, The Worldpaper, and others. In addition, this database provides over 20 Canadian reference books and 100 international reference books.

Note: Full text for the Red Deer Advocate can be accessed in this database.

Use this database to find computer-related product introductions, news and reviews in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications and the application of technology.

Use this database to find computer-related product introductions, news and reviews in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications and the application of technology.

Use this database to find articles from a comprehensive list of Canadian and international journals, magazines, selected sections of the Globe and Mail, Canadian biographies, and other reference content from Gale Group, all with a Canadian focus.

Education Research Complete

ERIC, the Educational Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and resources. The database provides access to information from journals included in the Curhttp://ard.talonline.ca/login?url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/red18477?db=GRCMrent Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. ERIC provides full text of more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and education-related journals.

Environment Complete
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

Environment Complete is a

Expanded Academic ASAP
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!

Film & Television Literature Index
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

Film & Television Literature Index is .

Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index
In Library | From Home (Valid RDPL Card required for home access)

Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index is a resource for access to articles about gardens and plants. Topics include horticulture, botany, garden and landscape design & history, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy. A highlight of the database is its focus on environmentally sustainable horticultural and design practices. This index and abstract product is designed for gardening enthusiasts, professionals, and students of horticulture and of garden and landscape design & history.

A general interest database that integrates a variety of sources in one easy-to-use interface. Use General Reference Center to find articles from magazines, reference books, and newspapers, many with full-text and images. Find the latest current events, popular culture, the arts and sciences, sports, hobbies, and more.

A general interest database that integrates a variety of sources in one easy-to-use interface. Use General Reference Center Gold to find articles from newspapers, reference books, and periodicals, many with full-text and images. Find the latest current events, popular culture, business and industry coverage, the arts and sciences, sports, hobbies, and more.

International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance .

Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,950 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,011 biographies, 83,472 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 192,999 photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost.

Perform in-depth research on management issues, economic indicators and business theories and practices, as well as on the activities of companies and industries worldwide. Instant access to academic and business journals with full text and images.

CBCA (Canadian Business and Current Affairs)

Red Deer Public Library no longer subscribes to this database.

Regional Business News incorporates 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States. Included in this database are Arizona Business, Business North Carolina, Crain's New York Business (and other Crain Communications editions), Des Moines Business Record, Enterprise Salt Lake City, Fort Worth Business Press, Orange County Business Journal, Westchester County Business Journal, etc.

Alt HealthWatchfocuses on the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness. This database provides full text for articles from more than 180 international and often peer-reviewed journals, reports and proceedings, as well as association and consumer newsletters. In addition, Alt HealthWatch includes hundreds of pamphlets, booklets, special reports, original research and book excerpts.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using EBSCO Health Databases

Use this Resource Center to find magazines, journals, newspapers, definitions, directories, videos, & reference information on: Medicine, Nutrition, Diseases, Public Health, Pregnancy, Prescription Drugs, etc. Included are links to diet, cancer, health assessment sites & government databases. Easily access 700+ videos from Healthology, Inc.'s consumer health video library. Spanish-language videos are available. The material contained in this Resource Center is intended for informational purposes only.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using Health and Wellness Resource Center

Use this database to find articles on: Fitness, Pregnancy, Medicine, Nutrition, Diseases, Public Health, Occupational Health and Safety, Alcohol and Drug abuse, HMOs, Prescription Drugs, etc. The material contained in this database is intended for informational purposes only.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using Health Reference Center Academic

This database is a collection of consumer health information This resource provides access to nearly 300 full text, consumer health periodicals, including American Fitness, Better Nutrition, Harvard Health Letter, HealthFacts, Men's Health, Muscle & Fitness, Prevention, Vegetarian Times, and many others. In addition to full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for over 300 periodicals. Also included in this database is searchable full text for nearly 1,100 health-related pamphlets; 136 health reference books, including books published by the People's Medical Society, and more than 4,500 Clinical Reference Systems reports (in English and Spanish). In addition, this database includes Clinical Pharmacology, which provides access to up-to-date, concise and clinically relevant drug monographs for all U.S. prescription drugs, hard-to-find herbal and nutritional supplements, over-the-counter products and new drugs. This full text database covers topics such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, drugs & alcohol, aging, fitness, nutrition & dietetics, children's health, women's health, etc

New: View the RDPL Guide to using EBSCO Health Databases

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition provides nearly 550 scholarly full text journals, including nearly 450 peer-reviewed journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also featured are abstracts and indexing for nearly 850 journals. Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong, including full text from Creative Nursing, Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Journal of Community Health Nursing, Journal of Nursing Management, Nursing Ethics, Nursing Forum, Nursing Inquiry, and many more. In addition, this database includes Clinical Pharmacology, which provides access to up-to-date, concise and clinically relevant drug monographs for all U.S. prescription drugs, hard-to-find herbal and nutritional supplements, over-the-counter products and new drugs

New: View the RDPL Guide to using EBSCO Health Databases

MEDLINE provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 4,800 current biomedical journals.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using EBSCO Health Databases

The Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection is a comprehensive database providing nearly 575 full text publications, including 550 peer-reviewed journals. The database covers topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods. In addition to the full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for all journals in the collection.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using EBSCO Health Databases

Canadian Newsstand is a full text/bibliographic database that provides full text access to articles, columns and features published by these daily newspapers: Calgary Herald, Daily News (Halifax), Edmonton Journal, Gazette (Montreal), Financial Post (Prior to October 27th, 1998), National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Province (Vancouver), Spectator (Hamilton) ( 1994 to July 1999 ), Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun . Plus transcripts of national news broadcasts from: CBC News & Current Affairs and CTV News & Current Affairs. A great source for Canadian newspapers and current affairs information.

Canadian Reference Centre combines Canadian magazines, newspapers & newswires and reference books to create the largest collection of regional full text content available to Canadian libraries.This database contains over 30 Canadian and international newspapers including Toronto Star, Canadian Associated Press, Guelph Mercury, The Worldpaper, and others.

With Press Display you have access to close to 450 newspapers from around the world, in the language in which they are published. The newspapers are updated on a daily basis. A list of the newspapers available in the database is available here.

New: View the RDPL Guide to using Newspaper Direct Press Display

ChiltonLibrary provides exclusive photographs, diagnostics designed by instructors, step-by-step repair procedures, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) maintenance schedules, wiring diagrams, recalls and Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) for automobiles and light trucks in one easy-to-use web site.